ACME United (ACU) COO exercises 20,000 options with 15,204 shares withheld

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

ACME United Corp President and COO Brian Olschan exercised employee stock options for 20,000 shares of Common Stock at $24.92 per share. To cover tax obligations, 15,204 shares were disposed of at $43.21 per share through share withholding, not an open-market sale. After these transactions, he directly holds 61,209 Common shares and 241,700 employee stock options.

Insights

Equity compensation analyst

Routine option exercise with tax withholding, no open-market trade.

Brian Olschan, President and COO of ACME United Corp, exercised employee stock options covering 20,000 shares at $24.92 per share. This converts part of his derivative compensation into outright share ownership.

To satisfy tax obligations, 15,204 shares were delivered at $43.21 per share via share withholding, a mechanistic disposition rather than a market sale. The filing notes the exercise was on a net share settlement basis.

Following the transactions, Olschan holds 61,209 Common shares and 241,700 remaining employee stock options. The pattern reflects routine compensation activity instead of discretionary buying or selling, and there is no indication of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan in the provided excerpt.

Insider Trade Summary

20,000 shares exercised/converted

Mixed 3 txns

Insider OLSCHAN BRIAN S

Role President and COO

Type	Security	Shares	Price	Value
Exercise	Employee Stock Option	20,000	$24.92	$498K
Exercise	Common Stock	20,000	$24.92	$498K
Tax Withholding	Common Stock	15,204	$43.21	$657K

Holdings After Transaction: Employee Stock Option — 241,700 shares (Direct, null); Common Stock — 61,209 shares (Direct, null)

Footnotes (1)

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Key Figures

Options exercised: 20,000 shares Exercise price: $24.92/share Tax withholding shares: 15,204 shares +3 more

6 metrics

Options exercised 20,000 shares Employee Stock Option exercise at $24.92 per share on May 21, 2026

Exercise price $24.92/share Price for exercised employee stock options

Tax withholding shares 15,204 shares Shares delivered at $43.21 to cover tax obligations

Withholding price $43.21/share Value used for tax-withholding disposition

Common shares after transactions 61,209 shares Total Common Stock directly held following Form 4 transactions

Options remaining 241,700 options Employee Stock Options outstanding after exercise

Key Terms

Employee Stock Option, derivative security, net share settlement basis, tax-withholding disposition

4 terms

Employee Stock Option financial

"The filing lists an Employee Stock Option derivative security underlying 20,000 Common shares."

An employee stock option is a promise that lets a worker buy company shares later at a predetermined price, often after they stay for a certain period or meet performance goals — think of it like a coupon that locks in today's price for a future purchase. It matters to investors because options align employees’ incentives with company performance, can increase the number of shares outstanding (dilution) when exercised, and represent a compensation cost that affects reported profits and shareholder value.

derivative security financial

"The transaction code description refers to an exercise or conversion of a derivative security."

A derivative security is a financial contract whose value comes from the price or performance of something else, such as a stock, bond, commodity, or market index. For investors it acts like an insurance policy or a wager: it can be used to protect against losses, lock in prices, or amplify gains and losses, so it can change a portfolio’s risk and potential return without owning the underlying asset directly.

net share settlement basis financial

"A footnote explains the option exercise was effected on a net share settlement basis."

tax-withholding disposition financial

"One transaction is described as a tax-withholding disposition of 15,204 shares."

A tax-withholding disposition is an event or transaction—such as selling or transferring securities, exercising options, or receiving compensation—that triggers a requirement to hold back part of the payment and remit it to tax authorities. It matters to investors because it reduces the cash they receive immediately and can change the timing and amount of taxable income, like a cashier taking a portion of your sale proceeds to pay taxes before you get the rest.

Form 4 Insider Transactions: What Each Field Means →

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL

OMB Number:			3235-0287
Estimated average burden
hours per response:			0.5

Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

Check this box to indicate that a transaction was made pursuant to a contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of equity securities of the issuer that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c). See Instruction 10.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

OLSCHAN BRIAN S

(Last) (First) (Middle)

1 WATERVIEW DRIVE

(Street)

SHELTON CONNECTICUT 06484

(City) (State) (Zip)

UNITED STATES

(Country)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
ACME UNITED CORP [ ACU ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director		10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)		Other (specify below)
	President and COO

2a. Foreign Trading Symbol

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
05/21/2026

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock	05/21/2026	05/21/2026	M		20,000	A	$24.92	61,209	D
Common Stock	05/21/2026	05/21/2026	F		15,204(1)	D	$43.21	46,005	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option	$24.92	05/21/2026	05/21/2026	M			20,000	10/16/2021	10/16/2027	Common Stock	20,000	$24.92	241,700	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. The exercise of the subject option was effected on a net share settlement basis.

	/s/ Brian S. Olschan	05/22/2026
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.
* Form 4: SEC 1474 (03-26)

FAQ

What insider transactions did ACME United (ACU) report for Brian Olschan?

ACME United reported that President and COO Brian Olschan exercised employee stock options for 20,000 Common shares at $24.92 and had 15,204 shares withheld at $43.21 to cover tax obligations, leaving him with 61,209 directly held Common shares.

Did ACME United (ACU) executive Brian Olschan sell shares in the open market?

The filing shows no open-market sale. Instead, 15,204 shares were disposed of at $43.21 per share to pay taxes through share withholding, a non-market transaction commonly used to satisfy tax liabilities on equity compensation exercises.

How many ACME United (ACU) shares does Brian Olschan hold after this Form 4?

After the reported transactions, Brian Olschan directly holds 61,209 shares of ACME United Common Stock. He also holds 241,700 employee stock options, indicating a continued significant equity-based stake aligned with the company’s long-term performance.

What stock options did ACME United (ACU) executive Brian Olschan exercise?

Brian Olschan exercised employee stock options for 20,000 underlying Common shares at a price of $24.92 per share. These options relate to an Employee Stock Option derivative security that was exercisable and had an expiration date of October 16, 2027.

What does net share settlement mean in the ACME United (ACU) Form 4?

Net share settlement means the option exercise was completed by issuing only the net shares after using some shares to cover obligations. In this case, a portion of the 20,000 exercised shares was delivered to satisfy tax liabilities instead of paying cash.